Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Sets New 12-Month High at $17.17

Shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $17.17 and last traded at $16.86, with a volume of 95435 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Thursday, February 15th.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $682.99 million, a PE ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 3.75, a quick ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The firm had revenue of $98.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is 30.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 606,898 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,551,000 after purchasing an additional 205,245 shares during the last quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,081,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 696,697 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,816,000 after purchasing an additional 134,233 shares in the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,171,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 289.8% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 78,319 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 58,228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

Ardmore Shipping Corporation engages in the seaborne transportation of petroleum products and chemicals worldwide. The company's fleet consists of 22 owned vessels including 21 Eco-design and 1 Eco-mod vessel, and four chartered-in vessels. It serves oil majors, oil companies, oil and chemical traders, chemical companies, and pooling service providers.